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This version of the Conservatives was supposed to be the government of accountability?

Posted by Scott Tribe on December 17, 2010, at 7:58 am |

Does anyone remember that accountability for government promise from the campaign promises of the Conservatives in the 2005/06 election campaign? The Conservatives apparently don’t:

A Conservative MP whose staffer leaked a confidential budget report is being shielded by fellow Tories from having to answer opposition questions on whether the aide also ran a private political printing operation out of her office. Kelly Block, a Saskatchewan MP, testified before a Commons committee on Thursday that her office, by chance, discovered evidence of the (Budget) leak on Nov. 18 in an e-mail trail that disgraced staffer Russell Ullyatt forwarded to another office aide.The Saskatchewan MP enjoyed an exceptionally strong show of support from fellow Tories as she faced a grilling from the opposition on Thursday. This included an escort to her seat from Government House Leader John Baird, who told reporters he was “just here helping a friend.”

Ms. Block cut short her testimony to MPs on Thursday, saying she had “other commitments.” She left after one hour, refusing to stay for a scheduled second hour of hearings and declining to answer any questions from journalists as she departed. Fellow Conservatives defended Ms. Block, noting that as an MP she is not legally required to appear before committees at all.

So to recap the Conservatives version of accountability here, (and correct me if my interpretation is wrong) the Conservatives have a manual to disrupt Committees that are considered to be too embarrassing to their minority government or potentially pass motions contrary to their interests, they say that their staffers aren’t required to show up to testify at Committees, because that takes Ministerial accountability out of the equation, but their Ministers don’t bother showing up either, because of some excuse or other.. and now they’re instructing their MP’s who get in trouble just to get up and leave in the middle of a hearing. I’ve not even gotten into the firings and dismissals of all the independent officers of tribunals, commissions etc, that Harper has done.

Where in ANY of those actions is an improvement over the Liberal governments that the Conservatives claimed they’d be more accountable to Parliament and the people over? (That’s a rhetorical question obviously, but I challenge any Conservative supporter to tell me how they can honestly defend with a straight face what the Conservatives have done the past 5 years as meeting their “accountability” promises.